Prospects for 2004

Not even the people at the very heart of the team are making any predictions about their chances in 2004. The drivers say the car feels well balanced, but there are so many unknown factors that it's impossible to guess the ultimate performance. With a line-up of young and inexperienced drivers (excepting Gilles Panizzi), the objective will be just to learn as much as possible rather than target outright results. The car starts the season in reasonably basic specification (with no active diffs) but is set to improve later. Mitsubishi hasn't ruled out running three cars on certain events to accelerate the learning curve.

2002
Alister McRae's fifth place in Sweden and Jani Paasonen's fastest stage time in New Zealand were Mitsubishi's highlights in a dismal year. On fast flowing gravel stages, the Lancer WRC was at least competitive. On slower sections and on tarmac, McRae and Francois Delecour struggled. The team's woes were compounded when McRae fell off his bike and the resulting injury kept him out of Australia and GB - arguably his strongest event. Delecour suffered a big, big crash in Australia where he and co-driver Daniel Grataloup were lucky to escape with their lives - it remains to be seen if Grataloup will get back into a rally car again. To top it all, title sponsor Marlboro switched to rivals Peugeot for the new season.

2001
Tommi Makinen had a mixed year in his final season with the team, winning brilliantly in Monte Carlo, Portugal and Kenya, but also making a surprising number of mistakes. The long-awaited new Lancer WRC was a step backwards at first and Makinen was lucky to escape a terrifying accident in Corsica. He was in title contention until crashing out of the Rally GB decider. Freddy Loix had some strong runs, but slumped again in the difficult WRC car, while guest drivers Thomas Radstrom and Toni Gardemeister had mixed fortunes: Radstrom taking an excellent second in Sweden but Gardemeister struggling.
 

2000
Makinen's remarkable title run finally came to an end, as Ralliart realised the current Lancer couldn't be stretched further and had to cede performance to World Rally Cars from Peugeot and Subaru. A disastrous batch of modifications mid-season left reigning four-times champion Tommi Makinen fuming, but the team regrouped and the Lancer was the most competitive car in the final quarter of the year. Low point was exclusion from first place in Australia, due to a turbo irregularity.
 

1999
Another evolution of the Lancer (the sixth) was introduced,  and Tommi Makinen responded by winning the first two rounds of the year. The car struggled slightly mid-season, but when Makinen won again in New Zealand, he re-established himself as title favourite. Victory in Sanremo and second in Australia were enough to clinch an astounding fourth championship in a row. Team mate Freddy Loix struggled badly and was lucky to survive a colossal Safari accident, but his efforts helped Mitsubishi to the manufacturers' crown.
 

1998
Mitsubishi started the year with the 'old' E4 Lancer (still good enough to win Rally Sweden), then switched to the more aggressive E5 model in Catalunya. Two-times champion Tommi Makinen seemed down and out by mid-season, but then he won three events in a row - Finland, Italy and Australia - to set up a title showdown with Carlos Sainz on the Rally GB. When the Spaniard retired at the finish line, the crown went back to Mitsubishi's man. Richard Burns acquitted himself well, meanwhile, winning the Safari and that drama-filled Rally GB.
 

1997
Another year, another evolution of the Lancer. And, it seemed, another title. Reigning champion Tommi Makinen racked up an astounding nine podium finishes during the year, and, even though he posted four retirements, a single point on Rally GB was enough to secure a second title for Ralliart. The second Lancer was less consistent, though - appearances by Richard Burns were punctuated by poor displays from Uwe Nittel in an older Lancer 'loaned' to Ralliart Germany.
 

1996
The Lancer and Tommi Makinen were now ready to fight for the world title, and they achieved it with a devastating display of speed. The Finn won in Sweden, then crushed the opposition on the Safari. A mid-season run of three successes on the trot, in Argentina, Finland and Australia, was enough to clinch the title with rounds to spare as chief rival Colin McRae went off the rails in spectacular fashion.
 

Pre 1996
Mitsubishi team boss Andrew Cowan has links with the Japanese marque stretching back to the 1970s, when he enjoyed success with the rugged Colt model. But, as a world championship force, Mitsubishi really arrived with the four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering Galant VR-4 in 1988. That model enjoyed sporadic success at the hands of Ari Vatanen (and an unexpected RAC Rally win with Pentii Airikkala), before it was replaced by the more compact Lancer  in 1993.